98th PGA Championship moves to July in preparation for Olympics

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The 98th PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, will be held the week of July 25-31, 2016, as the PGA of America marks its centennial year by joining the golf world in preparing for the sport's return to the Olympic Games.

The PGA Championship, one of golf's four major championships, will be played in July for the first time since 1968. The Championship, with the exception of 1971, has been conducted in August every year beginning in 1969.

Baltusrol Golf Club, home of many of the most memorable U.S. major championships, was selected in 2008 as the site of the 98th PGA Championship. The Summer Olympics, scheduled for Aug. 5-21, will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The men and women golf competitors in the 2016 Summer Olympics will be determined by the Official World Golf Rankings as of July 11, 2016.

"The PGA of America is excited for what the year 2016 means for our Association and the game of golf. It promises to be a historic season on many levels," said PGA of America President Ted Bishop. "We celebrate our centennial; our PGA Championship is being hosted on one of the greatest courses in America and the Olympic Games cap the summer by welcoming back golf as an official sport. We believe that moving up the PGA Championship date that year is a win-win for our viewing audience, our spectators as well as for what is likely to be once again the strongest field in golf."

The PGA Championship traditionally is the final point event for U.S. golfers attempting to earn a berth in the biennial Ryder Cup. In 2016, the PGA Championship helps shape the American team that will compete against Europe in the 41st Ryder Cup, Sept. 27 through Oct. 2, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.

Baltusrol's Lower Course, where Phil Mickelson triumphed in the 2005 PGA Championship, is the second New Jersey course to host the Championship, following Seaview Country Club in Atlantic City, where in 1942 Sam Snead earned the first of his three PGA Championships.

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